After a very long first day that saw me put almost 10 hours behind the wheel of the M6, day two started slow and relatively straight. With little left to prove I happily put the mighty M6 in “D” and all other settings in comfort. As much as the M6 can feel limitless when it comes to speed and performance, this is a GT car and should be more than capable of comfort. And that’s perhaps the biggest surprise of the trip so far. The M6, even with the Competition Package, is a blissfully comfortable car to drive.

I stayed on 101 until the mountain back roads started to look particularly interesting on the Nav. So on that hunch, I ventured off the highway and straight into the Avenue of the Giants. If you’ve never see a real 1,000 year old tree you owe it to yourself to make the trip. Yes the roads are spectacular but the scenery and the majesty of the trees is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

After another six hours of blasting down the 101 and then through San Francisco I finally made it to the famous Laureles Grade which is cut from the same cloth as the slightly more famous road next to it, Laguna Seca. After a quick run up and over the mountain I arrived feeling surprisingly rested.

Tomorrow on the agenda is Carmel Valley Rd and the big one… Highway 1 south to Santa Monica.